


desolation!au (lunatic!kaede au)

by falsely_true



Series: tiger & bunny [1]
Category: Tiger & Bunny
Genre: Anger, Brainwashing, Bullying, Character Death, Depression, Found Family, Gen, M/M, Memory Loss, Mental Breakdown, Mental Health Issues, Mentor-Student Relationship, Parent Death, Revenge, Secret Identity, Trauma, Vigilante
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-28
Updated: 2020-07-04
Packaged: 2021-03-04 01:48:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,300
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24961825
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/falsely_true/pseuds/falsely_true
Summary: in canon, kotetsu manages to restore barnaby's memory at the last second, but what if it didn't work?what if kaedeex machinanever got the chance to save her father at the top of the apollon media tower and restore the other heroes' memories? in fact, what if she never knew they were being brainwashed in the first place?what if kotetsu died that day?basically me developing my idea of an au where, consumed by anger and grief, kaede seeks lunatic to help her in carrying her revenge and murdering her father's killer.illustration of lunatic!kaede is attached at the very end of the fic :3
Relationships: Barnaby "Bunny" Brooks Jr./Kaburagi T. Kotetsu, Kaburagi Kaede & Kaburagi T. Kotetsu, Kaburagi Kaede & Yuri Petrov
Series: tiger & bunny [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1806622
Comments: 6
Kudos: 27





	1. overview

**Author's Note:**

> tbh, i was watching tiger & bunny w/ my friends and at some point i thought about kaede being lunatic's student because i just want to see her start shit  
> and it wasn't anything much at first, just small headcanons here and little doodles there. but then idk , i made a little sketch and it all snowballed from there.
> 
> i ended up developing this au and have become quite invested in it.
> 
> **this was absolutely disgusting to format, both in html and rich text. it felt like a cat shat all over my keyboard and i had to sort out the aftermath.**

### alternate names lmao

  * lunatic!kaede! au
  * cats-on-the-moon!au
  * revenge girl!au
  * revenge-girl-out-for-revenge!au
  * vendetta! au



* * *

### synopsis

follows the same storyline up until the memory loss arc, where the au experiences a massive canon divergence.

kotetsu receives a chance to escape after being aided by lunatic, and, not letting his unsuccessful attempt at making his friends remember his true identity deter him, he gathered them at the top of the apollon media tower.  
he tries again to make them remember that he is wild tiger, and not a murderer, but much like in canon the rest of the group do not believe him—though some falter briefly. unlike canon, however, is that kaede ex machina does not appear in time to unleash maverick’s next power that she copied to restore everyone’s memories.

she does make an attempt to reach the tower where her father is taking a stand, but she does not encounter maverick and on her way up the roof the elevator stops—as it should during emergencies...  
without her interference, the rest of the hero team overpower kotetsu who is smashed through the roof and lands into saito’s lab. realising that the latter doesn’t remember who he was either, kotetsu quickly grabs his suit and motorbike to try to escape and regroup with ben.  
the rest of the heroes rush to go after him, though some (blue rose, etc) are more hesitant than others (rock bison, etc). on the way down they [the heroes] find kaede and become preoccupied with her. they’re experiencing an emergency but the child refuses to leave, so some of the heroes have their hands full handling her.

during this, the cameras continue to follow kotetsu. in the end, barnaby pursues kotetsu on his own vehicle and they fight at the bridge where they first teamed up.  
kaede can follow what is currently happening as the event is broadcasted and grows increasingly hysterical, screaming that she needs to be there and that they’re [blue rose, sky high, etc] supposed to be helping her dad, not pursue him.  
at some point before the final blow, the feed cuts—the camera probably got hit by chunks of armour or other sort of debris.

the fight follows canon up until barnaby intends on delivering the final kick

« so this is it, eh? take care lil’ bunny…»

this time, the kick connects.

\---

at this point kaede is inconsolable, not being able to handle the fact that the broadcast cut and she can’t check her father’s condition in real time anymore. the heroes’ attempt at getting her to speak or to tell them who her guardian is is met with choked sobs and no response.

there’s two way i see her finding out about her father’s defeat, and subsequent death:

  1. the least traumatic, but still traumatic option:  
the feed was the last time she ever saw her father. the heroes only hear that « the criminal has been captured/dealt with by barnaby » on their private channel so they slowly excuse themselves and disperse, leaving kaede alone.  
some of the security guards approach her, trying to get a number to contact but eventually learn that she wasn’t speaking and let her sit there for a bit before calling the authorities. 

she either sits in the empty building until very late at night, sits outside on the bus stop with no intention of getting on simply watching the last of the buses disappear in the horizon, or waits at the police station with no intention of telling them who to call.

she eventually reaches the conclusion that her father will probably never come back as he died on her own and breaks down.

  2. the intensely traumatic “whoa you ruined a perfectly good 10-11 year old” option:  
as kaede grows increasingly distressed and the heroes try to keep her under control, she sees members of staff trying to cart something off discreetly. she gets a quick glance on what is being carried and recognises the hand poking out under the large tarp covering the rest of the body. it had her father’s wedding band, which he continued to wear, and upon realising what had happened, she immediately goes catatonic and wouldn’t react to the heroes anymore. 

much like option 1) she sits in the empty building, waiting for someone who will never return.




in both options, ben ex machina (yes kaede got demoted in this au im sorry) finds her and explains to her that he was her father’s boss. this gained her attention somewhat, and she let him drive her back home after he told her that her grandmother has been frantically contacting ben after realising that kaede wouldn’t pick up.

during all this, she remains silent and out of it, still not fully accepting that her father wasn’t coming back home: kaede knows it’s no use to wait for her father anymore, but doesn’t outwardly admit the fact just in case he really is alive. she knows she’s just lying to herself.

on their way back to the kaburagi home, ben explains to her that he tried to get on that bridge as fast as possible to intercept the two, but only arrived after barnaby had left the scene. he doesn’t go into much detail, but does give her the few things he had found and recognised was kotetsu’s:

  * the tiger emblem that he kept this whole time
  * the two matching christmas pins that (unknowingly to both ben and kaede) he shared with his former partner



the first sound kaede makes in a long time is more wracking sobs as she clutches the small objects.

she passes out sometimes during transit, and wakes up the next afternoon in her room, the memorabilia safe in her pocket.

\---

the next day, hero tv, and the organisations that funds it, refuses to make an official statement on kotetsu’s whereabouts after being intercepted by barnaby—they know that the latter murdered kotetsu, but they avoid the question in order to save his and the company’s reputation.  
they would answer something like:

  * kotetsu running away
  * being imprisoned for 250 years, with no visitors.
  * accidentally got himself killed



for the most part, the general populace accepted this outcome and thanked the diligent work of the heroes, but kaede and her family know better. kotetsu wasn’t the type to just leave, and he wouldn’t have committed murder in the first place. this official statement further cemented the fact that kotetsu had died—been killed.  
within sternbild, another powerful figure also doubted the credibility of the statement. yuri would literally see the red flags, but the situation really isn’t in his favour and he doesn’t know where to even tackle this. he’d need to do more digging up before planning out his attack.

kaede concludes (correctly) that barnaby was behind her father’s death, and possessed with anger and hatred, decided that she will get revenge one way or another and prove her father’s innocence.

* * *

### basic plot

headcanon form now, because it’s more convenient.

###### the lead-up:

  * during the few days/weeks that followed, she barely went out of her room unless necessary. 
  * she barely ate, even ignoring the flan pudding she adored so much. 
  * in her self-imposed isolation, she marinates in her own grief, which turns into anger and hatred. 
  * at first she regrets not having spent more time with her father and reaching out to him, instead of expecting kotetsu to do that for her. 
  * but the focus slowly shifts to wanting to make kotetsu’s murderer suffer as he has made her dad suffer. 
  * you know what, throw in the rest of the heroes. 
  * they should’ve been kotetsu’s friend and believed him instead of pursuing him relentlessly: they’re complicit too and should be punished accordingly.
  * **it’s important to note that, since kaede didn’t interact with maverick and inherit his next power, she doesn’t know that the heroes have been brainwashed.**
  * she just thinks that they’re secretly an evil group posing to be heroes.
  * she loses faith in them, and their flawed justice that got her father killed
  * she wants to avenge her father and prove his innocence _so badly_ , but doesn’t know how or where to begin. the odds are stacked against her, since only her family and a few people here and there believe in kotetsu’s innocence.
  * while she’s holed up in her room, she mindlessly replays the video clips that featured her dad over and over again until she memorised every single word and committed her father’s movements to memory. 
  * one day, as she flips through the different collectibles and magazines that featured him, she came across one such issue which showcased a different type of “hero”: the sanctioner with blue flames.
  * the vigilante who’s idea of justice was becoming more and more appealing to kaede the more she thought about it.
  * she’s seen the clips, how his next power allowed him to continually keep up with the 100 power duo. how it always allowed him to have the upper hand and to deliver his justice. 
  * kaede wants that kind of strength, that kind of power, to avenge her father.
  * she resolves herself to find or contact the vigilante no matter how, though that seemed to be a complicated enough task in and of itself.
  * kaede figures that when she does find him, she’ll either get him to work with her to get her revenge or copy his power if he refuses.
  * her searches prove more or less fruitless tho since lunatic can't be found when he doesn't want to be found lmao
  * after a few weeks/months, she grows disheartened and becomes rather depressed again.



###### the actual encounter:

  * i don’t have an actually have a concrete idea on how they met and how kaede convinced yuri to work with her, just a bunch of possibilities going from plausible to straight up crack
  * one way she could meet him is by bumping into judge petrov when she’s tagging along with her fam to try and claim kotetsu’s body.
  * the intent was to go to sternbild to recover kotetsu so that they can bury him in the family grave (and rejoin tomoe), but since the city refuses to acknowledge that kotetsu is dead and admit that a hero killed a person, the kaburagi fam can’t get his body back.
  * very sad times, maybe after the unsuccessful hearing kaede cries and _rlly_ begs to be able to get her father back, and grabs hold of yuri to make her point come across or something.
  * do you even see a judge when you try to claim a criminal’s body? idk it’s probably illegal to make physical contact w a judge but kaede is only bby so maybe she won't go to jail? i don’t know i’m dum
  * anyway, he’d probably carefully peel the child off of him and say something vaguely sympathetic before going wherever the hell judges go after trial? court? i know nothing about the legal system and it shows
  * **uh oh skin to skin contact**
  * kaede unwittingly copies his power and moves on with her day. it wasn’t until she came home and felt a burst of anger that she noticed that??? she can summon blue flames??? like lunatic does??? except she doesn’t recall meeting him at all???
  * she puts two and two together and susses yuri out
  * or instead of literally harassing him in court
  * maybe she just stumbles on lunatic because his favourite hobbies are standing ominously on roofs and killing murderers, in that order.
  * kaede: why is there a funny looking scarecrow on the roof…???
  * kaede: hoLY HECK
  * how she manages to get lunatic on her side is more convoluted
  * one way would be her going back to the city and confronting yuri about it. of course, he’d deny her claim until she gets angry enough and her eyes light up. 
  * yuri’s like “oh sHIT”. 
  * she could threaten him by saying that if he won’t help her then she will just seek her revenge by herself. 
  * yuri doesn’t want her to do anything rash and cause him to get in hot water because he rlly doesn't want to deal w/ the aftermath. ~~also he doesn’t want to like, see a whole child get hurt :(~~
  * so i guess he’s like, “this is my lot in life now”, and accepts to take her as his apprentice so long as she doesn’t cause any trouble
  * that was the peaceful route
  * kaede could also fight fire with fire
  * just hound down lunatic instead of yuri and when she finds him **it’s on sight**. chuck a whole fireball to catch his attention and demand that he takes her as his apprentice. idk maybe threaten to fight him mono e mono unless he complies. 
  * lunatic would probably just ghost her lmao 
  * but she’d continue to show up whenever he’s raring to kill a murderer so maybe he’ll accept because it’s getting more disruptive if he doesn’t
  * if anything, her persistence would impress him somewhat: she’s determined, and even when she’s only had the flames for like, what? 3 days? she can already control it well enough to shoot projectiles. she has potential and would be a helpful ally instead of burdening him.
  * the chaotic crackhead route is for kaede to somehow get her hands on yuri’s address and bully him until he listens to her
  * just show up outside his room at 3 am, eyes glowing, floating 3 feet from the ground. hell, t-pose outside his window. 
  * terrorise him.
  * she’d play loud music or shout at him day in day out 
  * she may even follow him to work and just pester him
  * constantly asking him to mentor her so she can have her revenge, poking and prodding about his secret night job as lunatic
  * kaede will leave mama petrov alone this doesn’t concern her
  * her beef isn’t w mama petrov
  * ever since that encounter, yuri has not known peace
  * yuri has 2 ghosts to deal with 
  * that’s 2 too many
  * he’s gonna take one out
  * the minimum age of criminal responsibility in japan is 14, while in new york it’s 18 (thanks google)
  * take your pick
  * kaede is 10-11
  * so either way yuri can’t take her to jail for harassment 
  * she’s coming out of this scott free
  * he snaps and literally begs her to stfu if he follows her wish :b:lease
  * he hasn’t slept for 34 days
  * regardless, kaede will come out victorious and yuri is now stuck with a child 
  * on a more serious note, yuri’s and kaede’s agenda are the same and it just so happens that their goals align. he has been suss since day one ever since the kotetsu debacle.
  * ~~in hindsight maverick really should’ve brainwashed the only judge, the person in charge of the justice bureau, the curator who has access to the hero’s files~~
  * maybe i’m jumping to conclusion
  * for all i know maybe maverick also attempted to invite yuri to that announcement “party” thing
  * but yuri was like 
  * « no ? fuck off »
  * and went on his way
  * yuri wants to look oddly menacing in his basement dungeon thing 
  * and maverick brushed it off because he didn’t think yuri was lunatic, or a next one the first place
  * we know that yuri learns that maverick is behind all of this and is probably a next on his own, but decides against taking action. i suppose in canon because he knows it’s not his battle to see through, but in the au maybe because he knows he’s fighting a losing battle. also he kinda injured his arm after being shot by H-01, so he doesn’t want to fight with a handicap.
  * he doesn’t want to take any rash action and cause more problems for himself.
  * potentially putting his whole secret identity scheme in jeopardy.
  * he chooses to take a moment to regroup and plan his actual attack. he couldn’t take on 7 heroes and 1 android at once, and risk getting brainwashed too.
  * at first, even if working together seem to only benefit kaede, the situation also gives yuri some strategic advantages. 
  * like once he finds out that kaede’s power is a mimic ability, not the flame ability. i feel like he’d find that hella useful
  * also kaede is a child who’s also basically a nobody in sternbild. she can infiltrate spaces he can’t, and not raise any suspicion.



###### possible denouements:

i see 3 major endings possible, with secondary endings which is just a one of the 3 major endings with some slight changes:

  1. **all sinners must die** ending

pretty self explanatory. kaede gets her revenge: with the help of lunatic she kills barnaby and maverick, potentially killing or maiming the rest of the heroes. her father has been avenged, but the city is more or less in a panic because there are no more heroes to protect them. “faith” in the vigilante, or at least in kaede, plummets because they attacked “innocent” people.  
it’s possible that she brings her father’s framing to light (but not that the heroes were brainwashed), though it’s doubtful that she gets the chance after causing such an uproar.

**kaede probably never learns the truth: that the heroes were brainwashed.**

this may or may not leave kaede incredibly bitter and nihilistic, as even though she got her revenge she doesn’t feel any satisfaction or sense of closure. she doesn’t get any form of catharsis and probably still has a difficult time moving on and coping with her grief.  
the city of sternbild adopts a very cold atmosphere and regains a strong distrust towards nexts, kaede may or may not continue to be a vigilante as she’s still trapped in grief limbo, yuri has to deal with the messy aftermath.

overall, it’s probably the worst possible ending.

  2. **of schemes and double agents** ending

a kinda slow burn route, i suppose? in this ending, kaede realises that the heroes are being manipulated unlike in the previous one. she decides to restore the hero’s memories one by one and getting them to secretly help her.  
i don’t think she could recruit everyone, but i’m thinking about those like blue rose, who seemed to remember somewhat after kotetsu’s speech thing. kaede could slowly remind them, and despite initial mistrust and animosity they would come round and realise there was a huge discrepancy in their memory.

outright rebelling against maverick would be rash and the heroes risk being brainwashed once more, so they figure they would pull the strings somewhat and provide kaede/lunatic with internal knowledge to help them.

in the epic showdownTM, when the heroes and kaede finally have a face off, barnaby (and those who weren’t approached by kaede) would experience quite a curveball: those who regained their memories would side with kaede.

  3. **safety in solitude ending**

in this ending, kaede works alone (with lunatic) without having recruited the other heroes even after realising they’ve been brainwashed. perhaps because it’d be too risky just in case they get brainwashed again or that they don’t agree with the vigilante’s idea and rat them out, whatever the reason may be the duo works alone.

this will lead into an _even more_ epic showdownTM where it’s 2 v. 8: even though the stakes are not in the duo’s favour they somehow manage to come triumphant? or maybe the heroes regain their memories one by one and decide to stop fighting, even though they don’t exactly join the duo’s side.




**constants:**

  * maverick dies. lunatic kills him. i doubt many are against the idea though.
  * barnaby’s memories would be the last one she “restores”: (courtesy of my friend) it would probably go something like, in a burst of anger she jumps him and gets his hundred power. as she punches at him, she tearfully confronts him about how her father must’ve felt in his last moments and how much kotetsu seemed to adore him back when he was alive. 

heck, remember how she recovered the christmas pins? she could chuck those angrily at barnaby’s general direction to put emphasis.

  * if bunny dies (ending 2/ending 3) kaede would not feel as angry and cynical, but more regretful or grievous. she’d probably stop using her next powers to do much anything (instead of continuing to be a vigilante like in ending 1). she’ll move on eventually, with more than less difficulty. the city of sternbild is on edge, but continue to place their faith on heroes.
  * if bunny lives (ending 2/ending 3), kaede would get a stronger sense of closure as she would be able to dialogue with bunny. barnaby would however, feel unending grief once he realises what he has done. 

kaede knows she’ll never be able to bring her father back, but she’d manage her grief easier. if barnaby lives, kaede would probably become a hero to honor her father and to use her power for good as her father would’ve wanted her to do.

  * regardless if bunny is dead or not, the truth is revealed to the general public along with maverick’s scheme and true intent in ending 2 and 3. so basically canon episode 25 ending except more angst and kotetsu is dead a while ago
  * **not a constant** … but it’s possible that because of lunatic’s whole code being “kill murderers and those who protect them” he’d be displeased with kaede choosing to spare bunny. maybe he’s the last boss… kaede and bunny defeat lunatic with 100 power, much like barnaby used to do with kotetsu?... nah that’s too messy and honestly i prefer lunatic and kaede to remain on peaceful terms lmao
  * **lunatic’s satisfied with killing maverick, he’ll back off of this one—barnaby was manipulated anyway. so technically... it wasn’t his conscious decision nor his fault???**
  * basically i don’t want kaede to fight her mentor figure, but i’m merely acknowledging the possibility.
  * actually…
  * maybe he walks up towards barnaby, the other heroes too beat up to do anything but watch while kaede remains by barnaby’s side
  * and lunatic just stands ominously in front of bunny, looking like he’s about to shoot him
  * but then he turns away
  * « hmph, how ridiculous. repent for the rest of your life, barnaby brooks jr. »
  * and then lunatic disappears in a flash, leaving a singed mark—the only proof that he had stood there.



* * *

### miscellaneous

headcanons in no particular order, certainly not chronological. crack, fluff, angst, just whatever comes to mind.  
for ease of reading, i will try to organise them thematically.

###### relationships

  1. **tiger x bunny**

rest in peace king, you will be missed.

kotetsu ded so the gay cannot be, rip in species.

but i’m putting this here because prior to the brainwashing they do be kinda gay tho, and even if kaede doesn’t know the exact nature of the relationship between the two she knows that her father was very fond of barnaby and cared for him deeply.

  2. **lunatic | yuri petrov & kaede**

this au is pretty lunatic & kaede centric, because well,,, kotetsu kicked the bucket, and barnaby and the heroes are considered the villains here

i see lunatic and kaede having a mentor-student kind of relationship, that can be fluffy sometimes  
a found family trope _could_ eventually be established, but that’s super delicate

on another note, if you _really_ want to fuck up your 11 year old because you absolutely want to give kaede the worst possible outcomes for some reason, she could—as a young child who has lost both her parents at a very young age—develop an unhealthy dependence on this [lunatic] new authority figure. she might incorrectly interpret his concern for familial care, etc… but i’m not even going there, that’s too messy.

_tbh the real tragedy would be kaede imprinting on yuri’s garbage sense of fashion…  
the secret to dressing well died with kotetsu._

idk if i should explicit this, but just in case: **this is not a romantic ship please don’t come for my throat.**  
literally this au was created because i wanted to see kaede start shit—just go absolutely feral and start chaos lmao

i would like snapshots of him teaching her how to control the flames better but also look out for her general well being because this kid has issues.  
_basically_ give me **a montage of yuri mentoring kaede and slowly becoming fond of her** or give me **death** :



  * lunatic probably made his own costume so? i’d like to imagine yuri takes the time to make one for kaede too?? also he makes sure it wooshes cool in the wind and idk, flammable enough to allow her to burn the cape off before she attacks??? 

that thing where the apprentice’s outfit is like directly taken from their mentor’s but also vaguely different. i want that.

  * just yuri hand sewing some apparels for kaede uwu
  * also give me vaguely domestic yuri or give me death
  * also mayhaps, gives kaede affirming headpats?
  * like if she performs well and her mastery over her powers improves in leaps and bounds? or when she finally unlocks a skill she’s been struggling with for a bit?? just a proud head pat and a well-intentioned-but-cold-sounding « well done »???
  * maybe when kaede first actually learns how to use her powers, her emotions might get the best of her or maybe she’s plain nervous because fire = danger and scary. 
  * and it shows because the flames grow more erratic and out of her control, and yuri grows very concerned for her well being because he doesn’t want her to get burnt like he did when he first awakened his power.
  * before it all degenerates, he helps calm her down and prevent his house from burning down. or wherever he goes to when he’s doing lunatic stuff…
  * a dungeon ?
  * his basement ?
  * my basement don’t look like that
  * we know where all the judge money is going: renovating the basement
  * much like her mentor, when she gets rlly angry her eyes burst into flames. to prevent her from getting into trouble by accidentally activating her power and injuring someone or simply revealing her identity, yuri would teach her grounding exercises or anchoring phrases that he himself uses.
  * idk just teach her breathing techniques to ease her anxiety or a mantra to recite if she feels like she’s gonna set someone on fire
  * also idk if i should give kaede a different weapon from lunatic ( ~~i know i will because the crossbow is lunatic’s aesthetic, and his only~~ ), but i like to imagine yuri teaching her how to shoot crossbows and her becoming oddly proficient at it
  * grandma kaburagi wondering why kaede has wicked aim all of the sudden
  * tbh kaede would just shoot w her hands. just pew pew finger. 
  * or she does the kamehameha thing she did w blue rose’s power lmao
  * at first he kinda sees being responsible for her as a bit of a chore and annoying, but maybe he slowly grows fond of her and idk, dotes on her. 
  * protecc the bby
  * help her do her homework
  * « i’ve only had kaede for a day and a half. but if anything happened to her, i would kill everyone in this room and then myself. »
  * on the flipside, at first kaede thought that yuri is _hecking weird, man_. just creepy suspicious prosecutor dude who she allies with because revenge girl rlly wants revenge
  * but he grows on her and kaede thinks he’s not so bad after all. an good authority figure whom she respects and cares for 
  * she still probably thinks he’s hella weird tho
  * kinda weird but also sometimes kinda cool 
  * eccentric but like in a good way
  * like your weird neighbour henry who means well despite what he says sometimes 
  * kaede would learn his ~~corny~~ cool catchphrases and repeat them when she’s out and about as a vigilante. 
  * just adopt/mimic his speech pattern of saying things slowly for more _oomph_
  * gotta do the whole code of justice and thanatos speech before she bombards barnaby with flaming arrows
  * yuri feels oddly proud
  * they’re both probably hella protective over each other tho. because that’s just kaede’s personality and yuri feels responsible for the safety of this child that he has been entrusted with.
  * children love sweets right? yuri secretly likes sweets. they can share sweets after setting murderers on fire uwu
  * idk man i just want some good mentor-apprentice relationship
  * it doesn’t have to always be angst
  * we can have fluff
  * maybe they can learn from each other and be semi-functional human beings 



**sometimes the real revenge is the friends you make along the way uwu**

###### school + domestic life

  * ok so like
  * kaede gets big depressed because **duh** your dad just got murdered by his partner 
  * and she rlly misses him and wished she was more understanding back then. she wished she spent more time w him back when he was alive
  * but it’s too late now and that makes her big depressed
  * so i feel like for the first few weeks/months after her father’s death, kaede wouldn’t go to school?? and i feel like her grandmother would understand and just like
  * not pester her about it and let her sort out her emotions first before talking to kaede about the elephant in the room
  * but also like, the school board also agrees to wait it out because the parents are kinda iffy about what has transpired
  * to be fair, oriental town is probably one of those small towns where everyone knows each other? so the parents/adults who know kotetsu are like??? kotetsu wouldn’t kill a person??
  * but the children who are more connected to the media and don’t know him personally believe that kotetsu murdered someone and deserved to be “arrested”? because why would you doubt hero tv and the heroes, they’re the good guys after all.
  * so when kaede found it within herself to finally go back to school, she has a rude awakening and learns that words travel fast in a small community
  * the other kids, not knowing any better, believed that kotetsu is a criminal w their whole chest and started all kinds of rumours on kaede
  * when she went to class she was greeted w her desk being pushed far away from the rest of the class, the other students steering clear from her
  * all sorts of nasty things were carved/marked with a sharpie on her locker and table—some others stuck paper with w the word “murderer” on it
  * kaede lost most of her friends and the rest of the classmates avoided her like the plague as they say vile things about her and her father
  * « look she’s back »
  * they don’t even try to hide the fact or bother to mask their voice and speak in a hushed whisper. 
  * « they said her father killed someone, who knows what she could do »
  * so kaede hears everything.
  * « don’t get close to her, or we might end up finding your body in a ditch »
  * kaede doesn’t follow through, but sometimes she thinks about running away from school to escape the bullying.
  * « come to think of it, she was always weird wasn’t she? she’s so creepy! »
  * maybe at some point it gets so disruptive that kaede can’t have a functional or healthy school life due to the constant harassment and alienation, so the school board agreed to let kaede do the rest of the year through online classes or homeschooling
  * in a way this works out very well for kaede, because it allows her more freetime to do vigilante stuff and she gets to avoid people’s gaze. 
  * she’s grown to dislike them, the scornful gaze of her peers and the pity from the adults.
  * the student’s parents always come to apologise to her, but for some reason their pity infuriates her to no end.
  * sadly this means that kaede isn’t as cheerful as before and becomes more closed off and reserved :(
  * kaede would continue to do ice skating tho
  * because it’s her passion
  * but also because she’s obstinate like that
  * « oh the others don’t want me here? they hate me?? they think i don’t belong on the ice??? they can go stick it, i’m gonna be amazing out of spite! »
  * at home kaede becomes even more protective over her grandmother, as seeing as she’s being homeschooled means she gets to spend more time w her and help her out with the housework
  * idk the blue flames could be handy for doing housework
  * oh the stove won’t light up? oh you’re gonna go get a different lighter? nice this is a convenient time to use my next power to spark the stove! when grandma is back kaede is just like « look i got it to light up, guess u didn’t have to go through all that trouble huh? » :D
  * since the fire doesn’t burn indiscriminately, could she, theoretically, control the heat/where it burns to make laundry dry faster???
  * kaede nearly gets a heart attack seeing the new scarecrow for grandma’s cabbage patch, but turns out she just found kaede’s vigilante costume laying around and didn’t think twice about it 
  * bonus points of grandma uses lunatic himself as a scarecrow
  * **_lunatic would make an incredible scarecrow fight me_**
  * despite not being able to retrieve kotetsu’s body to bury him with tomoe, kaede often visits their family grave and the shrine in kotetsu’s room and bring them flowers. 
  * she knows she’s just talking to air, but she likes to recount her day to her parents. about whatever she’s up to, and keeping them updated on everyone’s condition: grandma and uncle are doing well. grandma is still healthy thank god, while uncle sometimes like to joke about how his store is terribly quiet now without kotetsu around.
  * she tells them the whole truth, how she found lunatic and was going to avenge her father. that she was going to prove his innocence to everyone, if it was the last thing she’ll ever do.
  * in a bittersweet way, it comforts her somewhat that her father is finally with his wife again and that they’re both watching over her.



###### of next powers and secret identities

  * **to this day, kaede is the only one who knows about yuri’s secret identity**
  * they’re both complicit in this secret matter
  * schemes 
  * this continues even after the endings 
  * even if she became a hero she’d refuse to reveal lunatic’s real identity
  * it’s a matter of principle
  * she will always hold a great deal of respect for her mentor 
  * schemes
  * on another note, i’m fixing kaede’s next power because it’s too broken and is kinda inconvenient lmao: in this au she needs actual skin-to-skin contact to assimilate someone else’s next power, so if the individual is wearing gloves or touching clothes it won’t work.
  * adding on to this, kaede starts wearing gloves when she’s up and about so that she can limit the amount of nexts she may unknowingly make contact with and keep her current ability [blue fire].
  * the power would be super useful tho. like you can make yourself disappear into a puff of flames,,, so theoretically if kaede finds herself in a situation she’d rather not be in she can just ghost you irl
  * « y’all ugly. _boom_. »
  * remember how kaede’s room is filled to the brim w barnaby merch???
  * great for target practice and for letting out your anger
  * also to dramatically scribble out the eyes in black sharpie to get the revenge girl aesthetic 
  * oh man she’ll probably be sad that she snipped her father off from that one picture with barnaby 
  * in that regard her attitude towards bunny will take a complete 180
  * she used to think the world of him, but now all she thinks about is crushing him under her heel
  * also, i know she’d imitate lunatic’s whole speech thing, but what if she repeated her father’s catchphrase to provoke barnaby?
  * **also in homage of her dad ofc**
  * « it’s time to let out a wild roar! »
  * *strikes pose*
  * *angery barnaby noises*
  * what if as time goes on it gets increasingly harder and harder to hide the fact that kaede is a vigilante. 
  * like at first, her family is like “oh she’s grieving in her own way, let’s give her some space” and they’re surprised by how well kaede is taking it because she’s so calm, even if she’s more distant 
  * while kaede sneaks out at night to start shit
  * and her grandmother starts to notice how she seems more alert and jumpy, or sleep deprived. how kaede seemed to be hiding bruises and injuries, and tries to clean her wounds herself late at night. 
  * when asked kaede would deny everything and say she doesn’t use her next powers anymore because it freaks her out
  * but grandma is suss
  * she concerned for her granddaughter
  * maybe she doesn’t know about kaede’s secret identity but maybe she finds out she’s been meeting with yuri
  * **a grandma beats up a man in his late 20s-mid 30s on live television**
  * maybe at some point the heroes learn kaede’s real age, or assume correctly that she’s barely a teen and they’re like
  * is lunatic forcing you to do this ?
  * you don’t have to do something you don’t want to
  * it’s not too late for you if you give up
  * when rlly this was all kaede’s choice in the first place, not even lunatic’s
  * and that assumption rlly makes kaede angry, because their inactivity led to her father’s death and forced her hands
  * so it’s not their place to act like they’re concerned for her and her safety
  * just rlly distrust and dislike the heroes 
  * has a strong disdain for them
  * real talk, but kaede doesn’t know that the heroes were brainwashed. that’s why she’s able to be so ruthless against them, because she thinks they’re evil and working for some big conspiracy while playing a helpful and friendly front.
  * but _when/if_ she does learn the truth? the kotetsu factor jumps out.
  * they aren’t acting as if they were the good guys, they rlly think that they are because to them they just took out another criminal and not their longtime friend.
  * she’ll have an inner conflict. because on one hand, the heroes don’t know any better and are being manipulated so it would be cruel to punish them so harshly. on the other hand, they got her dad killed and for that she wants to inflict them as much pain and grief as they have caused her.
  * the kotetsu factor would keep her going tho. now she’s determined to not only clear her father’s name, but also restore everyone’s memory, because it’s the right thing to do.
  * but now everytime she has to face them and fight, she feels a slight hesitancy and feels sorry for them.
  * mayhaps blue rose as double agent ???
  * origami got big double agent potential, but he wasn’t having any of kotetsu’s shit so alas
  * another important character we gotta talk about: **h-01**
  * hear me out
  * so the android isn’t built with a voice box so it can’t speak. it don’t got any acoustics. but because of maverick’s brainwashing, when the heroes talk to the empty air they hear “tiger’s” response, which is purely borne from their own psychosis.
  * h-01: …
  * barnaby: perfect idea tiger, you can cover me
  * or
  * rock bison: who is that guy?
  * h-01: …
  * rock bison: yeah they look very suspicious to me too…
  * or
  * or
  * h-01: …
  * barnaby: i know!
  * anyway, it’s very weird and surreal to watch
  * just the heroes having a very one sided conversation
  * lunatic and kaede don’t know what to make of it and finds it really bizarre, because they know the android isn’t saying anything at all
  * yet the heroes are convinced he’s communicating with them
  * so maybe if kaede manages to restore someone’s memory, they start to notice that “tiger” doesn’t actually talk. he never did this whole time.
  * and it gets hard to come up with a response and pretend he answered them. 
  * the restored heroes also find it super creepy how it’s just silent and watching, how the others seem to think that the robot can speak.
  * maybe this will cause some suspicion amongst the heroes (who will brush it off) and maverick, and the restored hero will have to pretend to still be brainwashed to not get manipulated a second time
  * basically h-01 is creepy and just generally not fun to be around



* * *

### illustration

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *lower-case letters are intentional  
> *english is not my first language--i apologise for any mistakes i failed to correct  
> *i write dialogues slightly differently than what you'd usually find because that is what i'm used to using in the french system--i apologise in advance for any confusion i may cause  
> *like my work? consider leaving a comment or kudo // buying me a coffee // checking out my other stuff


	2. questions...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> companion headcanons for a doodle i made of this silly au lol

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~~i’ve been listening to alot of j-pop lately...~~
> 
> i would like to earn the trophy of never being able to draw kaede consistently uwu
> 
> just messing around w composition 
> 
> oh btw, the lyrics are from _hitchcock_ by **yorushika**. i’d put the link here but i’m afraid i'll be zapped by the ao3 gods. just check it out! it’s rlly cool and the song slaps !

* * *

  * i feel like
  * after isolating herself in her room for long enough
  * and kaede has run out of tears to cry
  * she’d seek out her grandma and open up to her, allowing herself to ramble and vent while her grandmother comforts her
  * maybe comforting kaede with words, but just her being physically there and still here, still present, still alive, grounds kaede to a certain extent
  * idk i feel
  * an 11 year old child
  * would have a lot of questions, and confusions, regarding the circumstance around her father’s death, the heavy secrecy around his work as a hero, and how to move forwards
  * she would voice some of her anxieties, and kept others to herself
  * questions like:
    * why didn’t they ever tell kaede about her father’s job?
    * why wasn’t she told that he was a hero? was she not important enough? did they think she wasn’t mature enough to understand?
    * did they not trust her enough?
    * what would’ve happened if he had died some other way, while saving someone or in the line of duty? did she not matter enough to be told?
    * were they really going to keep her in the dark forever?
    * was it her fault that her father’s dead?
    * did she indirectly cause it? if she had reached him sooner, if she hadn’t gotten stuck in the elevator or gotten stopped by the heroes, would her father still be alive?
    * why did the heroes kill her father? how come they showed no hesitation?
    * wasn’t her father barnaby’s partner? didn’t they work well together? how come barnaby showed her father 0 mercy?
    * from all the interviews and shows they did together, it seemed like they both respected and cared for each other. so how come they ended up killing each other?
    * aren’t heroes supposed to be the good guys? can she and her family trust them, regardless? (she knows the answer is no)
    * what else will they do? they’ve come after her father, will they come after the rest of their family? will they target her? her grandmother? her uncle? (kaede can’t bear the thought of losing her grandmother or her uncle, the last family she has left. the only people she has left.)
    * will they keep pursuing them and not leaving anyone alive?
    * why won’t they give her her father back?
    * why have they faced 0 repercussions while her family are suffering? 
    * why is it that bad people prosper?
    * what should she do from now on?
    * everywhere she goes, everyone shuns her, so what should she do now?
    * where does she go?
    * it’s easier to pretend that everything is ok and to relive memories of happier times, but is it ok to do so? how should she move on and seek closure?
    * is it selfish to seek revenge?
  * it’s easier to be in a state of apathy than to think about what’s really happened, but she knows she can’t stay this way forever
  * but she just feels so 
  * tired
  * and she feels so empty 
  * she just wants to find a patch of soft grass, lay down under the blue sky and the warm sun, and just sleep for… forever
  * it just
  * hurts
  * so much
  * it’s not that she’s suicidal, or that she wants to die
  * it’s just that she thinks it’s really hard to keep going 
  * in a strange parallel to her father, she is also able to disregard her own safety and her own environment pursue her vision of justice. the selflessness that has allowed to relentlessly seek revenge is the same kind of selflessness and lack of concern for the self that has allowed her father to save so many people.



**Author's Note:**

> *lower-case letters are intentional  
> *english is not my first language--i apologise for any mistakes i failed to correct  
> *i write dialogues slightly differently than what you'd usually find because that is what i'm used to using in the french system--i apologise in advance for any confusion i may cause  
> *like my work? consider leaving a comment or kudo // buying me a coffee // checking out my other stuff


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